ST. LOUIS – Harris-Stowe erased a 15-point second half deficit to beat the Missouri Baptist women's basketball team tonight, 76-75. Missouri Baptist scored at the buzzer, but needed three points instead of two, ending with the home team falling by one point.
Missouri Baptist (5-11, 3-5 AMC) shot 45% on 31-of-69 shots from the field and made 5-of-13 tries from three-point range. Harris-Stowe (5-12, 3-6 AMC) shot 40% from the field, making 28-of-70 shots. The Hornets made 5-of-13 shots from deep range and 15-of-27 (56%) from the charity stripe.
Senior guard Kristyne Smyth led the Spartans in scoring for the fifth consecutive game, netting 19 points on 7-of-18 shooting from the field. She also nailed 2-of-5 deep range shots and led MBU with a career-high eight assists.
Freshman Kennedy Smith recorded her second double-double of her career, scoring 13 points and pulling down a team-high 11 rebounds. She made 6-of-11 shots from the floor and also dished out two assists.
Taylor Klingelhoefer played all 40 minutes and scored 16 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the field.
The first half could not separate the two squads, as neither team could gain a lead by more than six points. Klingelhoefer drained a deep three ball to tie the contest up a 6-6 with 16:39 left in the half, and MBU would not trail in the half until there was four minutes left in the half.
The two teams would head into their respective locker rooms with the score tied 36-36.
Smyth led the Spartans with 12 points in the half, and MBU shot 45 percent from the floor. The Hornets shot 34 percent from the floor in the half and held the rebounding advantage, 22-21.
In the second half, Haley Elders scopped in a layup to give MBU a 4039 lead with 18:39 left in the contest, sparking a run by the Spartans.
Missouri Baptist would increase the lead to 54-43 with 15:07 left in the contest after a 14-4 run.
Kennedy Smith hit a bank shot inside the paint to give MBU its largest lead of the game, 63-48 with 12:10 left in the game, but the Hornets would not fly away.
Harris-Stowe drained three consecutive three-pointers and cut the deficit to just six points with 7:48 left in the game.
MBU was able to hold an eight point lead (67-59) after Morgan Settle made two free throws with 5:16 left in the contest, but HSSSU went on an 9-0 and jumped on top 68-67 with just 3:06 left.
Kristyne Smyth hit two huge free throws to tie the game at 73-73 with 30 seconds left in regulation, and had a chance at a go-ahead free throw just 15 seconds later. She toed the line, but missed the front end of a one-and-one, allowing the Hornets to hit the go-ahead bucket with only three seconds left in the game. Leslie Damper was charged with fouling the shooter during the shot, and Alexis Minner drained the free throw, giving the Hornets a 76-73 lead.
After a timeout by head coach Iris Dixon, the Spartans set up a last second shot for a chance to tie the game. Smyth chucked the ball into the paint from mid-court and Klingelhoefer drained the basket, but the Spartans needed three points instead of two points.
The game ended with the Hornets winning, 76-75. Missouri Baptist will travel to Park University on Thursday.
